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Apple May Meet Tablet Competition With a Smaller iPad — The tech companies are at it again — trying to catch the blockbuster iPad in a race to win the tablet market. — Google on Friday began shipping its Nexus 7, which is smaller and less expensive than Apple's iPad …

MSNBC.com Renamed to NBCNews.com as Microsoft and NBC Divorce — On Sunday night, MSNBC.com did something that successful Web sites almost never do: it renamed itself. — The site became NBCNews.com, signifying the end of a relationship between NBC and Microsoft that dates back to the earliest days of the commercial Web.

An iPad Lover's Take On The Nexus 7 — Trolls, feel free to skip to the bottom of this column and post your comments immediately without reading a word. Actually, who are we kidding — you didn't make it this far. — Everyone else, brace yourselves. You may want small children to leave the room.

Steam store search shows categories for non-gaming apps — The Steam app for Android shows a number of new categories that have little to do with gaming, which could be a shred of evidence that Valve is considering different kinds of apps for its popular game distribution service.

Here is why Facebook bought Spool — Over the weekend, news reports emerged that Facebook was buying Spool, a mobile-oriented social bookmarking service started by Avichal Garg and Curtis Spencer. At the surface, this seems like yet another acqua-hire but scratch a little deeper and you start …

Microsoft Hits Back as Google Muscles In — Microsoft Corp. has publicly dismissed Web-based Google Apps as a competitor to its Office software suite. But, behind the scenes, Microsoft is stepping up its efforts to halt Google Inc.'s encroachment on its business-software turf.

Microsoft's new Office: More strategic than Windows 8? — Summary: With the latest Office on deck, Microsoft aims to create its own business tech halo effect even if the enterprise uptake for Windows 8 is slow. — Larry Dignan — Follow @ldignan — Microsoft is expected to take the wraps off …

How Google is becoming an extension of your mind — SAN FRANCISCO — It's time to think of Google as much more than just a search engine, and that should both excite and spook you. — Search remains critical to the company's financial and technological future, but Google also is using …

The Most Important Tech Company You've Never Heard Of — Information about every cell phone in the country is in a Neustar database. Which is why it's kind of weird that 400 or so companies trust them to deal with law enforcement surveillance requests. — A Delaware-based company …

Creamery is deal central for SF techies — Miguel Raimilla (l to r), executive director Telecentre.org, and Rebecca Masisal, co-CEO Techsoup Global, who both work for community technology companies discuss work over lunch at The Creamery on Friday, July 13, 2012 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle / SF